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Yogi says Akhilesh is welcome in Ayodhya, but should apologise

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister defends his employment and security record as Sweta Singh questions him ahead of the 2027 state election.

Channel: Aaj Tak ·

IndiaStory of November 10, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of Aaj Tak's most watched videos since yesterday, with 297,219 views.

Aaj Tak: The Hindi news channel of the India Today group, since 2000. 76M subscribers and 50B views.

CM Yogi Full EXCLUSIVE Interview: UP Election 2027 से पहले CM योगी से EXCLUSIVE बातचीत | Sweta Singh

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7:27Adityanath welcomes an Ayodhya visit by Akhilesh Yadav but demands an apology for alleged past neglect.
14:36He says fair recruitment has delivered more than 950,000 government appointment letters since 2017.
17:36He separates investment proposals from projects reaching groundbreaking, linking investment to policy and security.
22:21He defends bulldozer action as a rapid response to criminals, while saying it cannot replace judicial proceedings.
26:00He defends the Election Commission and accuses opposition parties of blaming electoral institutions after defeats.
33:10He explains his 80:20 formulation as support for development and security versus support for disorder.

Akhilesh Yadav can visit Ayodhya, Yogi Adityanath says, but the welcome comes with a political demand: an apology for what the chief minister describes as the city's neglect under the previous government.

Speaking beside the Sarayu River to journalist Sweta Singh, Adityanath says Ayodhya is open to anyone arriving with devotion. His remarks appear in an extended Hindi interview broadcast by India's Aaj Tak during its Panchayat Ayodhya event, held around Diwali.

Adityanath, a Bharatiya Janata Party politician who has led Uttar Pradesh since 2017, is preparing for the 2027 assembly election. Yadav, president of the opposition Samajwadi Party, was his predecessor as chief minister. Their competing accounts of the state's development run through the conversation.

Singh asks whether a decade in power brings anti-incumbency. Adityanath replies that public sentiment toward his government remains positive, pointing to employment, investment and infrastructure. He says more than 950,000 young people have received government appointment letters through fair recruitment since he took office.

On industry, he distinguishes investment proposals received at an investors' summit from projects that have reached groundbreaking. He credits government policy, security, smaller businesses and the One District One Product initiative with creating employment. Later, he argues that expressways and air connections have helped develop the eastern Purvanchal region and Bundelkhand, and says per-capita income has tripled.

Security questions bring a defence of his government's use of bulldozers. Adityanath says demolition action is not a substitute for judicial proceedings, presenting it instead as a rapid response to criminals and land mafias.

The interview also turns to voter-list scrutiny and opposition criticism of election administration. He defends the Election Commission's autonomy and accuses opponents of blaming voting machines and the commission when they lose. Discussing Yadav's PDA appeal to backward communities, Dalits and minorities, he recasts it as serving one political family.

Asked about his much-discussed 80:20 formulation, Adityanath says he means a division between people supporting development, security and good governance and those supporting disorder, rather than describing religious communities. He also credits Mission Shakti with improving women's safety and independence, and promises a new economic programme for women.

The conversation closes with his prediction of a large BJP-led alliance majority, making the interview both a defence of his record and an outline of his case for another term.